#this is about adult dick grayson btw.

[willwriteforhugs]

when a character was naturally a goofy and light-hearted person their entire lives but as they grew up they got more and more damaged by the world and by their own grief and it became harder and harder to be the one smiling. and yet they force themselves to stay funny and stay light-hearted but over time it progressively becomes something they do consciously and intentionally to both relieve and manipulate their loved ones . ohohohohohoho

[littlefankingdom]

Me: People who hated Jason Todd did so because he wasn't Dick Grayson, so they were people who were attached to Dick and have spent years reading his adventures as Robin. That means they were probably older teenagers at least, but probably adults. The DC writers themselves, who are adults, hated Jason and wanted him to die, because of their love for Dick. Therefor, people who liked Jason the most were young people, of the same age as him. He could have been their friend, they saw themselves in him. In posts online where people ask why some voted for Jason to die, young people (at the time) explain how they didn't think it was possible and cried afterward, which really show their ages. We can also bet that the people who wrote to DC about how sad they were that Jason died and how much they cried are also young, teenagers or maybe younger. Jason was them, he was their age and their friend, their hero. But the older generations didn't care about what Jason represented to these children, didn't care about the pain Jason's death would bring. Their nostalgia had become hate, it blinded them. The only thing that mattered was that Jason needed to be gone. It was never going to bring back Dick, which is reinforced by him refusing to come back as Robin when Tim asked him after Jason's death, nothing could do that. But they refused to accept it. Poll clerk: Miss, this is a polling station for the French legislative elections... Me: And yet, older folks still let nostalgia blind them to hate and vote against progress, changes that are inevitable, harming in the process the younger generations and their future, even leading some to their death. Poll clerk: Miss, I must ask you to leave.

[chaoticgremlinbrainspace]

once I figure out how to write and draw hands? its all over

fuck having it together, im making him a cringe fail 20 year old is barely holding his Personal life together by a single thread and its his work life. im gonna fuck up his work life balance. to you hes put together somewhat to me he has a pile of dishes and the trash is overflowing. am I projecting a bit? Probably is it fun? yeah. im hitting him with my beams.

[spectral-honey]

-bruce Wayne isn't at the circus when dicks parents are killed, and the court of owls take him and he becomes a talon.

-timmy sees him one night, out in the garden of a party looking up at a sky when dick is killing some guy on the roof. Watches him quadruple somersault kick some guy so hard his neck snaps.

-dick talon, sees Tim seeing him. And stalks the kid home, because he might need to get rid of the witness. Or at least report back to the owls about him.

-talon is in Tim's kitchen and he's going to kill him and Tim sees him, gets excited that for some inexplicable reason a gnarly looking dick Grayson is in his house, and offers him a Popsicle.

-talon, for reasons unknown to him, ends up eating a Popsicle.

-somehow, even though it means nothing to him, should mean nothing to him, being called dick Grayson makes talon not kill him.

-somehow, it doesn't get told to the owls.

-somehow, talon finds a way to see Tim again. Made easier when Tim realizes they could meet in the middle and starts hanging out on dark rooftops.

-tim brings him the picture of the two of them and dicks parents two adults, and dick talon looks at the picture for hours.

-the next time, Tim brings him a handful of camcorder videos pilfered from across the internet. Of the flying Graysons. Of dick, and of his... Parents.

-tim also brings him fruit snacks.

-tim doesn't get why Dick doesn't know this, doesn't get why Dick looks different, doesnt get or think too much about the guy he saw dick kill. He doesn't get why he doesnt speak much or know much or acts weird. He's just happy to see dick again, cause he still remembers the kind boy who offered to do a special trick for him, who cried over his parents bodies, who Tim cried over when his parents read in the paper that he'd disappeared.

-somehow (Batman), the owls are taken down, or at least scattered so talon dick doesn't go back there anymore. He shows up at Tim's door and Tim is happy to have him in the house when his parents are away, and shows dick the treehouse Tim and his dad built, told him he could stay there when his parents were home because no one went there because his dad had a business trip that he had to go to before they finished the ladder and now it was too hard for anyone to get up to.

-dick gets found out by Batman, eventually.

-cause an undead kid is living in his city. A talon type of undead kid. In a little boys treehouse.

-jason found him, actually.

-Jason's Bruce's sidekick, his first one and his first kid, but he isn't a robin, because that name came from dick.

-he stopped for a quick breather in some nice neighborhood with actual yards, saw a treehouse and thought "cool, a treehouse", went in and thought "oh, uncool, a talon with a tiny civilian hostage", saw shitty pictures taped to the wall of the kid looking silly and the talon disarmed and confused, and shitty drawings with colored pencils and crayons, and the talon and kid were sitting close to each other with a kid-proof tablet shared on their laps playing a matching game and thought "weird possibly cool turn of events. A tamed talon", and called Bruce.

-batman comes, and now the talon, the civilian kid, and Jason have made a circle and Jason's reading something to them from the tablet.

-its the Wikipedia page for robins, btw. Tim is a weird kid and talon apparently likes robins.

-batman sees danger, first, because the talons body is shaped by it. The talon is tensed, scanning Bruce for an opening to kill. The talon is too close to Jason, to the civilian, Batman sees so many different ways the talon end them before Batman could take a step.

-but the talon hasn't, is waiting. Waiting for Batman to move. For Batman to attack first.

-and Jason briefed Batman, said he didn't think the talon was a threat. Batman couldn't take his word on it, but he could investigate himself.

-he saw the pictures. The drawings, the tablet and the way the civilian and the talon lean close to each other, how talon has set himself between the civilian and jason and batman.

-he also sees the bedding tucked into a corner. The stack of nonperishable foods tucked behind it. The little scraps of paper with simple words- no, yes, food, tired, game. The gray of talons skin, the hollowness settled deeper than bones. That talon became-was forced to become what he is when he was young. little. precious.

-bruce makes a decision.

-dick argues with Jason about who was really older. He was born first, and just because he couldn't grow for a long time, bruce helped fix that, didn't mean anything. Jason's genetics were freaky, letting him grow taller than dick anyway.

-eventually, when much of his growth and healing is done, he does regain his legal identity and legal age.

-dick loves calling jason his little brother in public, where Jason can only object so much.

-dick also takes extreme joy telling society folk that he just ages well, when they fawn over how youthful and pretty he is.

-tim and dick were introduced to Jason's teen titan friends, using the same costume and codename, around the time dick was the same height as Tim. All the titans are convinced the two are some kind of bat-cloned devil twins until dick finally finishes growing and is like over a foot taller than Timmy.

-it becomes an inside joke for the Titans to confuse their mentors by introducing Tim and dick as twins still anyways.

-when Damian comes he tries to stab dick once and dick is literally like wow. Your form was so bad try being a better child assassin <3 jk tho maybe try defeating me without maiming or killing. As a little challenge. Bet u can't. I could do it and look at me I was an awesome child assassin.

-and so Damian embarks on a journey of learning that he doesn't even know is learning

So the rest of this was supposed to be in the tags but apparently Tumblr only lets you have 30 tags. Boo u whore :/ so here's a bunch of shit that was meant to be in the tags & therefore is formatted weird and not at all like the stuff above:

This all came from 1) the idea of Tim figuring out dicks identity as talon rather than as Robin and 2) the image of talon dick living like in a treehouse like. Like a birdhouse.

I imagine Tim is like, little, maybe 6 or 7 or something when he meets talon dick the first time

And then maybe dick escapes the court when Tim's 9 and Jason finds them when Jason's 13 and Tim's 10

And dick was stuck in an undead talon body at the age of like 9 so he's a little shorter than both of them for a while before Bruce is able to get help to let him age normally again

And they get him a couple growth spurts before they let his body work out the rest

And he ends up like 5'10 and he's like I swear I would've been taller if I hadn't been talon

But no dick actually you were always destined to be a short king <3

For reference I usually hc Jason as 6'0 or taller, dick as 5'10, and Tim as like 5'5

Jason is a behemoth and dick and Tim are short kings. Damian is the tallest when he grows up tho

I also imagine that dick is sort of figuring out who he is and isn't totally there for a long time with Tim, and some time after the court of owls falls he remembers enough about his parents that he tracks down and kills Tony zucco

And Tim's like why did you do that killing is bad :( and dick is like he's why my parents died and Tim is like oh okay :) but dick is like internally going killing is bad? 🤔 I'll have to think on this.

Also like in general I was thinking about a little Tim trying his best to work with dick who is traumatized and not used to expressing himself in regular or healthy ways and Tim being just a little kid so it's not like he knows a lot of things or how to do that so they end up with a modge podge of strange coping skills and communication styles

Hence when I mentioned the papers with words on it .. idk if that was clear lol

Also tho Tim teaching him things that dick take as like. Facts but they're just things Tim does

Like if you whisper in someone's ear it's a secret and you can't tell anyone

And one time dick whispers something in Jason's ear and Jason immediately turns and shouts it to Alfred

And dick is so betrayed

Also Tim telling his parents about his grey friend who lives in his treehouse and can bend his bones and they're like that's nice you have an imaginary friend Tim

I also started writing a version of this post where Timmy like figures out dick is talon and like sleuths after him but it was too unclear how Tim would uncover the fuckin court of owls best agent so I scrapped that

But like fanon Tim probably could

I think its closer to canon Tim that its just something that kind of happens to him tho lol

'i found out the bats secret identities because I happened to see Robin do a trick a boy once told me specifically only he and his family could do'

'i found out Jason was alive because he showed up at me and my friends clubhouse and tried to beat me to death'

[boyfridged]

Regarding Jason's pre-crisis characterization, would you say that he really is just a carbon copy of Dick or did he eventually grow into his own character in the span of his run time? Also, would you recommend it to a Jason fan to read about his pre-crisis days?

i don't think pre-crisis jay has ever been a carbon copy of dick actually! i know it's a popular opinion but frankly speaking, i think people who say that either have not read his pre-crisis run at all or have not cared enough to understand the story.

the fact that pre-crisis jason’s origin and background (in major ways, but not 1:1, that’s also a misconception) mirrors that of dick was not “lazy writing” and it’s not some sign of the general silliness and carelessness of the editorial of the times. it was very much a conscious, well-thought-through decision.

let me break this down (so that it doesn't become another essay):

to make it clear before i get into anything else: jay's background being so similar to that of dick is actually a way to set up a story about their differences. despite sharing so much experience, there are some key variables in both their origins and personalities that the writers clearly wanted to bring readers' attention to. i will circle back to it later.

i reckon a lot of dc fans who never actually got to read these issues have this misconception that the death of the pre-crisis todds was an exact parallel to that of the flying graysons. however, jason’s parents do not die in a way that dick’s parents do; in fact, joseph and trina todd die while aiding dick in an investigation after he requested their help (this is also why dick later says that he would take care of jason have bruce not offered; he feels guilty for their demise.) this is a deeply fascinating concept tbh, because the todds are like collateral damage to vigilantism; sacrificial lambs, and dick is responsible for it, leaving another orphan on the scene. it's a full cycle!

it was also a smart way for jason to enter the narrative this way because it gave him a link to his predecessor. unlike post-crisis, jason’s first contact is dick, which makes sense, because it’s a story about robin (as a disclaimer: the way post-crisis alters it is also sensible for the plot it tries to convey; but these are two various storylines, approached from a much different angle!)

and pre-crisis jay is a very much different character from dick since day one. dick projects on him vehemently, giving him the robin mantle (once jay tries out different identities btw), which jason accepts as a gesture of love but also dreads. he struggles with the concept of vigilantism from the start, while everyone around him assumes that this is simply the way things go because his circumstances are so similar to that of both dick and bruce. he has a seriously tough time trying to reconcile with the concept of dual identities. he questions bruce's motives and actions a lot more than both dick in his early days and post-crisis jason. he stares numbly at the wall after his first patrol. he voices his concerns.

here i also want to say, that while i absolutely do think everyone should read these stories, and there are some storylines that can be incorporated into post-crisis jay canon, it doesn't hurt to consider which of them do not fit into it at all.

post-crisis and pre-crisis jay have completely different backgrounds, and since pre-crisis jay has been brought up in a rather safe and stable environment, as i mentioned, he's much more confident in questioning bruce. on the contrary, post-crisis jay seems to be so delighted to be having an adult at all that his faith in batman is almost absolute (for most of his robin run at least.)

as i said, pre-crisis jay is also much more aware of the duality of the vigilante life. as a former performer, he says that it feels disappointing to know that none of the people whom he helps will know his name, and he is used to having an audience (he is aware that it is a selfish sentiment.) this is not a thing that post-crisis jay considers at all.

i also imagine that post-crisis jay would never tell bruce the (famous) words that he would be perfectly happy to be just his son and not his sidekick (which he does pre-crisis); not because the truth is different but because he doesn't fully comprehend that it's an option. post-crisis robin jay's compartmentalisation is barely existent if at all; bruce "gave him" robin even before he took him in, so the roles of a son & sidekick are almost one and the same for him, which is why i'd say the events of a death in the family occur at all (he "failed" as robin -> he runs away to find another parent).

and well. pre-crisis jay actually has friends. his world does not begin and end with his role as gotham's protector and hope. speaking of which, he also does not possess the same passionate relationship with gotham as post-crisis jay does.

there are of course many traits they share – i'd say they both have even more sympathy for criminals and an even stronger of belief in rehabilitation than bruce does. they are also both, in a way, a victim of the cycle in the family and projection – bruce (and pre-crisis, dick) assume that the way of dealing with grief is to go out into combat, which is not necessarily true for them. but ironically, i think, it's post-crisis jay who remains more innocent and is easy-going in the way he initially settles into the role.

ultimately, i think all batfamily fans should read pre-crisis robin jay's run because it's perhaps the only run that takes adoption and the topic of legacies seriously. and it's before the editorial and writers decided that batman having a child was lame, and that robin's role was just CA, so bruce is truly parenting. while pre-crisis bruce is much more of a sweetheart than post-crisis bruce is, so it may not all seem "realistic" for contemporary characterisation, it still gives a good idea of what a plotline about bruce being a parent could and should look like. i'm not going to lie to you, post-crisis jay's run feels seriously loveless compared with pre-crisis. pre-crisis, there's plenty of family tensions, and at times it appears that no one in this damn family understands each other, and yet there's so much fondness and care and desperate declarations of belonging. pre-crisis jay's story is genuinely, from the very beginning, a story about a child whose parents die entangled in a vigilante's investigation and who is thrown into a family of vigilantes, projected onto from all sides, and who tries to fill in shoes he never truly asked for in the first place. but dear god is there tenderness there. is there self-awareness and a serious attempt to conceive what taking over a mantle of a sidekick means. yeah. much more than it is in post-crisis.

[arunneronthird]

The Death of Jason Todd is such a weird moment, and for me makes the birth of Tim kinda all the more special

basically the 1980s you see the birth of the adult comic fan, the late 1970s and early 80s sees comics geared at high school and college age guys, the X-men in 1975 for Marvel and the New Teen Titans in 1980 for DC.

Come 1986-87 you have the adult fans, and for Batman two works by Frank Miller, 1987's Batman: Year One and 1986's The Dark Knight Returns, both project a grim serious "for adults" NOT FOR KIDS! Batman who in both cases does not have a Robin (well DKR kinda does but we'll get there) most importantly DKR is presented as the future of DC comics as having taken place in the main timeline and were we're going. And Batman's shift to a darker more serious more adult character is set off by... the death of Jason Todd.

So you have a camp of comic fans, particularly Batman, fans who wanted to be taken seriously as adults and not have their thing their hobby characterized as "for children" you also have fans, who feel like there should have only ever been one Robin, Dick Grayson. Remember Grayson was a main character in the wildly hugely to this day biggest selling ever New Teen Titans. Till Crisis in 1986 Jason Todd had the same word for word origin story as Dick, he was also a Circus kid, his family was the "Flying Todds" who fell to their deaths. it's not till 1987, only about a year before his death he's given his own famous tire stealing origin story (and black hair...)

Any ways its unclear to this day if fans really did vote to kill him, since there's always been a rumor one person set up an automated system to repeat call the line to kill him, the final difference between kill and not was 72 votes.

However I think in so many ways that makes Tim special because the writers saw what the fans did, saw that neckbeard rotten comic fan boy rage about wanting their adult grown up grim gritty solo Batman and said "no you are wrong, Batman needs a Robin" it's not just Tim saying that to Bruce it's the creators saying it to the fans.

okay this is gonna sound a bit weird but bear with me anon, if u ever like, want to expand on this u should write a post and send me the link so i can rb it cause i think its such an interesting read and it opens up so many posible discussions and people wont be able to talk to u if ur an anon! people including me btw

that being said, it is interesting that the writers doubled down on tim after killing jason, knowing the writers hated jason! at least as far as i know, my sources are as unbiased as any dc fans so... probably biased

i think the person who originally wrote tim did indeed believe furiously that robin did not make the comic immature, he gave depth, but tim was always a... more serious robin, the quirky dialogue was cut a lot, imo, which im not complaining about, i do like the more serious batman tone, but its so fascinating to know why that shift probably came to happen

lastly i may be a dreamer but i chose to believe the poll was not manipulated, if only because of the fact that i would probably have voted to kill him off, and dont get me wrong, i love kid jason, but as a reader, wouldnt u wanna know what would happen, what it would do to bruce who was trying so hard? to dick who never trued as hard as he could? would there be another robin? how can u say no to that

[disniq]

Season 1, episode 1: Titans

(Here we go, baybee)

Everything in this show is so damn dark, please just let me see

Right off the bat with the creepy circus music, love that. And we are once again leveraging Dick Grayson’s extremely personal tragedy onto other people, yay!

(Side note, but I was trying to work out how old Rachel is supposed to be so I looked up Teagan Croft’s age-- SHE’S 14/15 HERE. RYAN POTTER IS 9 YEARS OLDER THAN HER. I had just been assuming Rachel, Gar and Jason were all about the same age, what the fuck. I have so many questions about the ages of these characters!!)

Look, I'm not a huge fan of Rachel in general, but knowing she's only 15~ does earn her a smidge more sympathy from me. Everything is harder when you're 15 and a bunch of cultists are trying to kill you.

Brenton Thwaites is very pretty. And very serious. (This show has it's issues, but the casting is not one of them imo)

"He's from Gotham, likes to work alone." (See? We know the source material!)

(Does anybody know why they changed it to Detroit? Were they contractually not allowed to use Bludhaven, or did they think using a real place made it more relatable?)

11 minutes in and we have our first body. (Did you know this is an Adult show, for Adults. Look how dark and gritty we are.) RIP Rachel’s fake mom.

Back to Robin, and;

Sir. That's a grown ass man in a cape.

Also, @bloodyentrails made a good point here - why are drug dealers in Detroit, Michigan scared of Batman and Robin anyway?

Oh man, I know the shows whole Thing is that it’s dark and gritty but fuck me. Dick stabs two guys in the neck in his first fight and straight up snaps at least four bones.

(Just setting the tone here for when they still try to pull the “Jason is reckless and violent” card later.)

(I am keeping a body count for everybody, btw.)

(Dick is on 2, but honestly the guys that lived are gonna be pretty fucked up for a good while.)

Anna Diop is also very pretty. I am but a simple bisexual.

Oh, Kori totally banged that hotel concierge. Good for her dot gif.

Her face journey through this whole scene is peak comedy. "I loved you" "Sorry, who are you again?"

Funny how the whole room and three men were charred crispy, but that single photo of Rachel was miraculously intact. Ah, cinema.

(Kori is up to 4 kills. Slay girl! Incinerate!!)

Back to Rachel, who is getting kidnapped! Yay! How do all these different groups of cultists suddenly know where she is?? A few days ago she was just attending school no problemo, but now they can track her across states?

At any rate, it doesn't end well for this guy in particular.

And last but not least, a big kitty stealing games!

They really said Here are your main four heroes, they're all criminals :D

[thelextheluthor]

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Titans (the series on HBO Max) because:

On one hand I could literally not imagine anyone better to play any of these characters like Brenton Thwaites is peak Dick energy and Curran Walters makes baby asshole Jason look easy and Iain Glen is perfect Bruce material and Joshua Orpin gives off Superman vibes and also manages to make Conner feel young and inexperienced etc. There's also a good dynamic between most of the characters and they help each other out and they showing that they're people. They're people with problems and secrets and struggles, sure, but they're people. And they care. About each other. About the world. And the series shows that.

But. It also frustrates me to no end. Incoming huge rant, btw.

(warning- lots of spoilers for the show, mostly season 3 cuz that's where I have most of my beef with, and also i haven't watched s4)

Usually because of little -mostly Batman related- things that aren't really noticable to people not really into DC but are there nonetheless like: Dick is not his fucking legal name. It's Richard. No it's not going to say Dick on legal documents. I'm talking mostly about the episode where he got fucking arrested and they pulled up his file (and showed his passport to I think). Also his middle name is fucking John, people, not that hard to look up. (I'm pretty sure they do the same thing with Jason and make his middle name something completely random, but I'm sure in most if not all canons it's Peter). Just. Richard John Grayson. It's not that hard 🙄🤚 Nobody who is either not close to him or has no sense of boundaries will call him Dick. His (adoptive) father is Bruce MF Wayne. Richard, Mr. Grayson, Mr. Grayson-Wayne, whatever that canon is making his last name, that is what they will call him out of RESPECT, if not to him, to the one name everyone in Gotham knows.

Bruce's age is another thing. I have absolutely nothing against Iain Glen, pretty amazing Bruce, but your telling me Bruce is how old? Iain is 61. Like. I'm pretty sure he adopts Dick in his 20's. It's not him being an experienced adult. He's still young. So he WILL screw up. As a person and as a parent. Same thing for the young Dick flashbacks, like, an eight year old from a circus definitely would not know how to drive a car. I do love how he started off on the path of vengeance, because as a "darker" show, Titans is meant to highlight those parts of him hidden by traffic light colors and puns, but one of his things is that he's pretty much the age Bruce was when his parents died. The kid in the show was no younger than 13 in his earliest flashbacks (again, same with Jason and Tim. These kids showed up looking like high school graduates, which, sure, is young to be starting a life of crime-fighting, but you gotta remember that Jason died at 15 in the comics, and Tim never even graduated).

Another thing is, I really do want the show to introduce Damian, but I doubt that this version of Bruce would be able to raise a kid ever again, probably doesn't trust himself enough to, plus he's like in his 50's so either he had Dami really late or he -like the rest of the bat-fam so far- is really aged up when he starts his whole Robin thing, which also kinda worries me because Tim barely got introduced in the 3rd season and I think he will be Robin in the 4th, so I heavily doubt we'll get murder baby 10 year old-ish Damian. And while being young isn't all Damian is, it's a little crucial to his story because you see an adult who was trained to be a killer and you see them as dangerous, sure, but an adult. Actually seeing, witnessing a child being a murder weapon, knowing that that is all their childhood was, that is pretty twisted.

Also I feel like Dick's whole "prison arc" schtick just wasn't him because dude's whole thing was "adopting strays" and he just up and left a whole ass kid in charge of a tower and a comatose patient & got himself thrown into prison on purpose. Nuh uh. If there's one thing that separated Dick and Bruce personality-wise, I think it's that Dick is the one who helps and loves people from the bottom of his heart. Bruce does love people, but he doesn't know communication or where to draw the line between work and personal life. Dick also has that same problem and we see it, he knows it and resents it because he knows that's a *Bruce* trait, but he on the other hand has a support system, people who care and help. Because that's what the Titans is. And Dick wouldn't up and abandon that for anything.

Again with Bruce, I know fighting crime isn't the best way to raise a child, and that giving a traumatized child deadly weapons to fight their inner demons will leave scars, but I wholeheartedly believe that Bruce was trying to be a good parent. In the show, he's really no more than a mentor. The most emotion I've seen is AFTER Dick becomes Nightwing(in one of Dick's flashbacks, he communicated through fucking letters. Dick was practically alone). Same goes for Jason. This was supposed to be another kid Bruce saw himself in, someone lost and alone. And when we saw his computer files on possible future Robins?

Keeping the roll with Bruce, he does things I feel like neither Bruce or Batman would do. Hell, when Jason died, first thing he did was kill the Joker. That is Jason's whole schtick after getting revived‼️His whole problem with Bruce is that he let the Joker live, even after everything, even after his own son died! Nothing changed to Jason! His death didn't mean anything!

[annah-kitathryne]

Oh I have a list. I'm going to be blocked for some of this and you know feel free to debate me on this I want to have a constructive conversation on some of this. Plus there is no way that I can read every comic ever and remember everything so if mistakes are made I am human.

1. Bruce Wayne/Batman as a character works best when you have him go on a slow but consistent downward spiral where you have him start off with as good of a rich capitalistic boy can be but have him slowly get worse as he gets consumed with more paranoia and emotions he can't properly process because he was never given the proper environment or tools to do so. Have him good from a fairly decent parent and have in decline every so slowly into a worse parent.

2. Alfred Pennyworth is a very flawed character and has picked side multiple times despite claiming (sometimes) to be neutral in a conflict. He has negatively impacted the children he cares for and abandoned his own family to continue working full time with Bruce. (Pennyworth has a daughter BTW).

3. TimSteph was a messy teenage relationship that failed because of at its core very teenage things (miscommunication) but the problems were only made worse but the adults in their lives. They both had their faults and were both horrible to eachother in many ways but they were also very sweet and cared for eachother. To not acknowledge the roles they played in eachother's lives is to disregard a lot of characterization and growth as well as a lot of trauma.

4. Tim is a brilliant character but he is flawed and very annoying some of the time. He says things and does things that make him a complicated flawed but still ultimately good character. The gun Batman story is stupid and should not be revised again. We can explore Tim's flaws in other ways that doesn't bring in gun batman.

5. Jason did more for the plot by being dead than by being alive, and he haunted the narrative perfectly fine. He did not have to be brought back as a character later on. The Batfam was going strong without him and his characterization has only gotten worse throughout the years and most of the storyline he has been in recently is grossly misrepresenting both his Robin character and his later character.

6. Babs is a flawed character and makes some of the same mistakes as Bruce as to boil her down to 'girlboss' is stupid and misogynistic. Making babs Batgirl again is ablist and removes the character growth she had as a character beforehand. She was better as Oracle.

7. Dick Grayson is oversexualized and mischaracterized. It needs to stop. Make him go back to being asshole traumatized adult who only tolerated Bruce for short periods of time. Dick should be a character outside of Gotham related characters.

8. Stephanie Brown has been mistreated by the comic makers and the fandom and what the fandom has done to her character has not fixed the problem, only made it worse.

9. Cassandra is an amazing character but has been whitewashed and infantalized, and tokenalized. She is a complicated character but by many has been reduced to a one note character who is secondary to the the 'batboys'.

10. Helena Bertinelli deserves to have her characterization back and to have the traits that were stollen from her given back. Her writing as a character and vigilante anti-hero is better than Jason, and to give her characterization to Jasonbis wrong.

11. The Batfamily is not a nuclear family and they only get along and work together in smaller groups. They are all together tolerable but antagonistic coworkers but in smaller pairs or groups familial relations.

12. The Joker should be dead and some other big bad should become the focus. Joker as villian has been beaten to death and not interesting anymore. DC has plenty of other very fascinating characters that they could use.

13. Harley Quinn is a problematic character that needs to be written by other people.

14. There's something about boiling Tim down to the 'smart Robin' and headcannoning him as East Asian that feels ickey to me. Like these two together specifically. Just like there is something that feels icky about headcannoning Jason as black or Latino and boiling him down to the 'violent robin'.

15. Batman should have stayed dead. The extended Gotham vigilantes and heroes had just reached some form of normal and a new ers of comics could have come. That would have been more interesting to see than reseting everything.

16. Tim needs to grow as a character outside of Robin and Batman.

17. The Dickbabs vs DickKory ship war is stupid

18. Not all relationships need to be romantic and not all relationships are meant to last. The fandom needs to understand this.

19. Selena can do some much better than Bruce.

20. Talia deserves so much better than what she has been given and deserves a formal apology from everyone.

What's your batfam hot take that will land you like this?

[kimberly-spirits13]

The dick grayson love is undying, he's too much of an absolute angel, I also feel my dick grayson obsessesion restarting and I'm not even mad about it, man is an angel and it's really too bad that he ain't real

I really hope your throat is feeling better, I got my tonsillectomy done I think 2 ish years ago now and as an adult, and the recovery was yikes, it wasn't too painful but then I was taking pain meds so idk it was more just so uncomfortable and gross but thank the Lord for modern medicine because I am so glad those things are out of my throat like do we even need tonsils they're just very problematic 🤣 but really wishing you a good recovery!! 💙 (yes I used the blue one cuz nightwing lol)

AHHHHH SEE I KNEW IT Dick Grayson is just great

also thank you for the well wishes, I feel a lot better now and have started going back to school again. Thankfully school was out today for the severe weather that came through Georgia so I had a good break today. love the hearts btw 💙🖤🙃

[dramatisperscnae]

Guessing the kink (the emoji is a chilli pepper btw): Imogen is never going to say it outloud and is loathe to even think about it for too long and will absolutely never admit to sometimes trying to guess those things about her adult clients... but she's fairly sure Dick Grayson has a praise kink. And she's taking that thought to her grave thank you very much @personae-obscura

[Guess the Kink/s || accepting]

Listen don't tell her but she's right >w> [I mean, situation and partner dependent but still]

[superbattrash]

a small Part of Alfred will always see Bruce as his baby even if he isn't very outwardly affectionate about it.Clark and Dick stumble across a book of bruce baby photos Alfred secretly keeps and he gives his commentary in his typical Alfred way. Bruce walks in on the cooing and is like ohshitthisisembarissingileavewhydoesheevenhavethesegottaplaythisoff

Just found this page and I am in love btw

Hi sweetie! Sorry about the wait (it did give me time to incorporate the other parts of your prompt though). I wasn’t sure if you wanted Dick as a child or an adult, so I had a wise soul (Thanks, Alpaca, you da real MVP) help me pick one. I hope we picked right! :D 

I also had to stop myself from writing more than this - I was beginning to stray from the prompt, as is typical Misha fashion, oops. Oh well, I hope you like it! 

There’s a concerning amount of giggling going on in the living room. Not that Bruce minds the giggling - he hasn’t heard it like this in a while, but it’s not a bad sound.

What’s concerning is the fact that he hasn’t seen Clark anywhere and the giggling is very clearly Dick having fun at someone’s expense. There’s really only one potential victim and while it may be Bruce’s paranoia talking, he does know his son and Dick only has one laugh designed to make fun of Bruce. It’s the one that’s booming through the halls this second. Bruce should’ve known better than to leave Clark unattended in the manor while Dick’s home. It’s rare that they have a moment without any of the kids around, but Bruce was almost certain today was one of those rare moments. He should’ve remembered that Dick visiting meant Dick sticking around even after the others had left. Bruce had just figured he’d go with his brothers to the movie. That’s why he’d suggested it. To get at least a few hours alone with Clark.

They’re supposed to have a date night - Clark insists on it and Bruce pretends it’s Clark’s idea in the first place and not something Bruce hinted at for three and a half weeks. No matter whose idea it originally was though, Bruce had some last-minute bat related details to take care of and Clark, the ever graceful not to mention gorgeous oaf of a man had of course merely pecked Bruce on the cheek and said he’d wander around the manor for a minute.

That the minute turned to half an hour isn’t Clark’s fault obviously, but Bruce can’t really be held entirely accountable when his boyfriend is the most patient and understanding man in the history of forever. Still, he should’ve left Clark in the kitchen, or his office. The bedroom, even. He could’ve made a little comment on how Batman likes everything prepared beforehand, or something equally sleazy sounding. Clark would’ve enjoyed that too. But no, of course Bruce’s mind has been too preoccupied with his work, with the mission. He’s getting better at prioritizing differently, but he’s just human. He slips up every once in a while.

Like now, letting Clark roam free along the halls when Richard Grayson just so happens to also be present at the Wayne manor. Bruce should’ve seen it coming from miles away; not only is Dick the biggest Superman fan out there, he’s also a little shit who likes embarrassing or otherwise annoy his father. Normally he wouldn’t mind. It’s a good thing that Clark and Dick get along. But the giggles are piercing his eardrums and he gets increasingly anxious when Clark’s booming laughter joins in. What could be so funny?

Bruce walks towards the living room faster.

“That can’t be Bruce,” Dick laughs and Bruce’s steps falter. He narrows his eyes and walks more quietly. It’s not like Clark won’t hear him approaching either way, but he can image it’ll take him more than half a second this way.

“It’s like he’s never aged at all,” Dick’s voice rings out.

“Look at the little button nose,” Clark coos, and Bruce freezes in the doorway.

Button nose? Just what in the world are they doing in there? If Bruce was an ordinary man, he’d say he was afraid to enter the room, but instead he pretends he has to listen for a few more minutes before he’s truly assessed the situation.

“Did he get that fixed?” Clark asks.

“Oh no, he grew out of that naturally, I’m afraid,” adds Alfred’s voice and Bruce feels betrayal seep into his bones. Alfred wouldn’t- would he?

They’d had this talk before, of course, about Alfred’s weird habit of photographing every moment of Bruce’s childhood. They’d come to a truce of sorts with Bruce allowing Alfred to keep the old pictures if only he’d hide them away never to be seen by anyone else.

Bruce was… Bruce had been a cute child, even he had to admit as much. Chubby and round, expressive blue eyes, a button nose and a few freckles over his cheeks from being outside in the sun too long. Being cute wasn’t exactly at the top of Bruce’s list of accomplishments though and after his parents died, he had a hard time even looking at pictures of himself from before that night. Because that child was gone, his life torn from his body just as much as it had been from his parents that night. At least the life he was supposed to have. So Alfred had silently bowed his head, letting Bruce decide not to have the photos displayed.

At least until now it seems.

“There’s no way those freckles aren’t photoshopped,” Dick says.

Bruce frowns from his hidden position. As if he’d spend precious time photoshopping dots onto his own face just to appear cuter. Youth these days… Bruce hasn’t had freckles in years and he’s certain Alfred has truly betrayed him when he peeks around the corner of the door. Just as he’s predicted Clark and Dick are sitting on the sofa, a large book open in Clark’s lap. He should’ve burned it when he had the chance.

“They didn’t alter photos back then.” Clark flinches and looks apologetically at Alfred. “I mean, not that they’re that old-”

“It’s quite alright, Master Kent,” Alfred reassures. “We did indeed not alter our photos back in the day. Although we wouldn’t have had any need to with Master Bruce’s photos. Those freckles are entirely natural.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I am not, Master Richard.”

“He’s always had dark hair, huh?” Clark asks carefully.

“From the moment he was born, Master Kent,” Alfred agrees. There’s something almost like pride in his voice. Bruce doesn’t want to think about what photos they’re looking at. He can barely remember which photos Alfred has.

“Too bad he won’t grow it out, look how glossy and soft it looks.” Dick points to another photo.

Bruce feels a knot form in his throat. He can’t remember the last time Dick looked at him with such joy – it’s not that they’re not close anymore, but life in Gotham took its toll on Dick. He’s doing better though; Bruce just wishes he didn’t have to look at these old photos to be this happy in the manor. He’d rather nobody ever looked at these photos, but especially Clark and Dick. There’s no reason for them to see what Bruce was like as a child. He’s not like that anymore. Gone are the freckles and the carefree smiles, as well as the wild hair. They’re pictures of a happy child and Bruce is no longer a child.

The happiness part he’s working on. Clark is helping him.

Bruce has heard enough, and he clears his throat discreetly. Alfred doesn’t move an inch. Bruce rolls his eyes, knowing with every fiber of his body that Alfred is well aware he’s there. He’s doing this on purpose.

“Alfred,” he calls quietly. Dick is blabbering loud enough that he hasn’t heard him.

Alfred doesn’t move, but there is a slight tilt to his lips and Bruce wants to stomp his foot like a petulant child.

“Alfred,” he hisses and finally Alfred takes the few steps closer towards the door Bruce needs him to, so that they can talk in private. Well, sort of private, anyway. At least Clark is considerate enough to pretend like he can’t hear their whispered conversation.

“I thought we agreed to keep those hidden,” Bruce says, crossing his arms over his chest to emphasize his annoyance. Alfred, as always, doesn’t give a shit about Bruce’s embarrassment.

“You agreed, sir, I merely complied,” he says as he raises an eyebrow. Bruce deflates like a soggy balloon instantly.

“That’s-” Bruce tries to come up with a decent response, but as is often the case with Alfred, he falls short. “Alfred,” he says instead, voice clearly portraying how displeased he is.

“Bruce,” Alfred echoes in the same voice and Bruce blinks in surprise.

The astonishment must be clear as day on his face because Alfred smiles that secretive yet somehow completely disarming smile of his.

“Look at them,” he says then, and Bruce does.

He’s never been able to disobey Alfred, has never wanted to either. And as always Alfred is right. There’s nothing wrong with the image he’s looking at – it’s his boyfriend and his son looking at photos. It’s not that bad. For a brief moment he just looks at them, enjoying the way Dick is nearly sitting on top of Clark to point out a certain picture.

“They’re enjoying themselves,” Alfred points out, as if Bruce can’t tell that on his own. He avoids saying ‘as am I,’ but Bruce can tell he wants to.

There’s something very domestic about watching his eldest son smile and wave his arms around excitedly. So maybe it isn’t such a bad thing that he’s making fun of Bruce’s baby pictures. It’s not like there’s actually something to be embarrassed about. And Clark is following his every word; Bruce can tell from the way his eyes are focused on Dick’s.

It’s not so bad.

“I don’t get why you still have those,” Bruce still mutters, just to get the last word.

“Because they’re precious to me,” Alfred says, and Bruce can’t find any response to that. The lump in his throat blocks the words from coming out either way, even if he did find something fitting to say. Of course, Alfred must have the final word. He always wins, the old bastard.

Alfred bumps their shoulders together gently and Bruce sends him a shaky smile. Because they’re precious to me. Because you’re precious to me. He doesn’t have to hear the words from Alfred’s mouth to understand them. They don’t talk much about the days before his parents’ murder and he knows that’s his fault. He never realized that maybe Alfred would like to talk about it though, talk about what Bruce was like as a child. Bruce knows how he feels when someone asks about his children and even if Alfred isn’t his blood, he’s the closest thing to a father Bruce has. He should’ve been more considerate.

Dick finally notices him and snatches the photo album from Clark’s lap to hold it up. He looks to Clark and then to the photo album before locking eyes with Bruce.

“Look how similar they are,” he says with a grin.

“It is my face,” Bruce deadpans as he finally walks into the living room.

“Yeah, but who would’ve thought you’d been such a cute baby.”

“A cute baby?” Bruce holds a hand to his chest in mock-hurt. “I was obviously the cutest baby.”

It makes Dick laugh, which was his goal. He really can’t remember what he looked like as a kid. It can’t be that much different from now. He steps closer to peek over Clark’s shoulder. Huh. So maybe there’s something about that. It’s a very cute baby indeed looking back at him from all the pictures and- just how many does Alfred have of him in nothing but a diaper? He turns to glare at his butler. In true Alfred fashion he merely raises an elegant eyebrow.

“The expression’s different though, baby-you didn’t frown like that,” Dick says as he reaches up to try to smooth out the line between Bruce’s brows. He’s too quick for Bruce to swat at him, dancing around his father like natural gymnast he is. Bruce is both proud and annoyed, which is very much on brand emotions whenever Dick is near him.  

“Doesn’t make you any less cute though,” Clark chimes in.

“Ew,” Dick says just as Bruce mutters: “Shut up.”

Alfred stands in the doorway and watches his boys bicker for a while longer. He knows it was a risk to leave the photo album out on the sofa, but it turned out alright after all. Sometimes all Bruce Wayne needs to see reason is a little push. Alfred doesn’t mind being the one pushing. Especially when it means he gets to share the pictures of Bruce’s first day of school. Those are a favorite of Master Kent’s as well, and Alfred silently thanks the higher powers that Clark can’t get Bruce pregnant. He’s pretty sure they’d have babies running around nonstop and Alfred is too old for infants.

He wouldn’t mind another child though. Maybe he should hint at adoption. Master Kent is more than ready to take the bait judging from the heart eyes he’s been sending the photo album all afternoon. Alfred smiles as he leaves for the kitchen. It’s time for tea.

[sinnbaddie]

Tell me you've never talked to a Dickbabs shipper without saying you've never actually talked to a Dickbabs shipper. Don't like it? Block the damn tag.

Ah yes because someone who doesn’t like Dickbabs (because of the pedophilia like writing with Barbara – 25 – towards Dick – a child – and the shitty writing and lack of development for both characters) would absolutely love to talk to the fandom and it’s shippers.

I did block the tag btw. Wont change the fact your “ship” is awful for both parties, ruined a relationship that not only was development for Dick but Kory as well, and you’re fandom you speak so highly of won’t stop when it comes to hating on Kory and calling her a “whore” and a “slut” etc.

Don’t speak on Kory, someone who’s done more for Dick (and Dick for her of course) than Barbara ever could.

And quite frankly I don’t care how much it’s retconned, won’t change the fact people started loving Dickbabs when Barbara was a whole adult talking about how a teenage Dick was cute. Maybe worry about how your ship ruined Barbara as a character and de-aged her just so her entire character can become about Dick Grayson and won’t allow development for her

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Hi hi! I was wondering if you could do a dick Grayson x Avatar like fem reader with either a jealous Babs or Zatanna I hope that made sense🥲

True Love’s Kiss

Pairing: Dick Grayson as Nightwing x Reader

Warnings: I don’t think so

Word Count: 4.1K

@writing2sirvive : Hi love, me again but with a request this time. If you have time of course. I was thinking true love’s kiss with Dick Grayson. You can go crazy with it because I know you love Dick Grayson as much as I do. Btw I love your writing so much.

A/N: I think I did it wrong...cuz even though this is a Dick Grayson x reader fic, it’s mostly centred around reader and Zatanna???? Sorry about that???

You were fine with knowing that Dick was still friends with most of his exes. You completely accepted that he was able to keep functional relationships with most of them. In fact, it showed you how amicable and neutral Dick was and how he never held any grudges against people.

Of course, you were surprised by the sheer number. And the fact that he seems to interact with them practically every day. But eventually you managed not to let yourself get too bothered by it.

I mean, how could you? Barbara was the smartest, funniest, most approachable person you had ever met. She always made sure not to overstep her boundaries and was unusually open with you, given that Dick was her ex-boyfriend.

Raquel was adventurous and fun and you always had a good time when you were around her. She was another one who was respectful of your relationship. She never brought up her past flings with Dick, nor did she ever try and put you down. In fact, she was one of the people who really shipped the two of you.

You liked most of his exes. To the point where it made Dick kind of uncomfortable.

You liked most of his exes.

Ever since you had joined the team, being introduced as Nightwing’s significant other, Zatanna had been a constant thorn in your side. She was nice and sweet but there was something about her that rubbed you the wrong way. You could tell almost immediately that she wasn’t quite over her relationship with Dick. Short as it was.

Or maybe she was just the type of person who didn’t want someone, but didn’t want others to have the same person either.

Nonetheless, being around her put you constantly on edge. You lost count of how many times she redirected a conversation to be about her previous relationship with your boyfriend. ‘Oh, Dick took you to a fancy restaurant for your birthday? Well, I remember back when we were dating, he threw a huge party for me on mine.’

‘Oh, you celebrated your one-year anniversary with Dick in Paris? Well during our 3-month-aversary he bought me an expensive necklace.’

It didn’t bother you in the slightest. At least, not in the way that she hoped. It didn’t make you insecure or doubt or feel intimidated by her. It was just an annoyance that you couldn’t shake off, like the teacher you didn’t like or your annoying neighbour.

Unfortunately, Zatanna couldn’t take a hint that it made you and your friends (Barbara and Raquel included) uncomfortable and slightly irritated. Yet, everyone was just waiting for you to express the slightest distaste, not wanting to step on your toes. However, they were quick to change the topic in case they thought she was going too far.

Dick had been blissfully unaware of everything and you wanted to keep it that way. The last thing you needed was this turning into some sort of issue, especially since Zatanna was still his teammate.

However today you had enough.

You could look past Zatanna’s petty jealousy but allowing the jealousy to come to the forefront during a mission was where you drew the line.

Dick, M’Gann and Conner had been on a covert mission for Batman and out of the country and under team vote decided that you should be made in charge until he returned, since you were the only other older member (other than Zatanna but you were voted leader unanimously. Something you were extremely proud about). That was well and good, until you had been given a mission.

Regardless of how much you did not want to work with Zatanna without the others there to wrangle her, you had to put your personal feelings aside when you had a mission to complete.

You thought you could both be professionals about it and act like mature adults.

You were dead wrong.

If it wasn’t disagreements, it was insubordination. If it wasn’t insubordination, it was blatant arrogance. She questioned your judgment in front of the other members and even had the nerve to argue with you about mission strategies. You were trying to look out for everyone and put yourself in the line of fire since the squad members were better at stealth.

Zatanna seemed to think you were trying to steal the show and insisted that she be partnered with you even though you wanted someone with the younger members to keep them safe.

When you relented and agreed to go stealth, she accused you of ducking out and intentionally trying to put her in danger. The others had to watch as steam practically came out of your ears when you relented once again and decided you’d be with her because you honestly couldn’t argue with her much longer.

As if that wasn’t infuriating enough.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was when she refused to work as a team, putting the mission at risk and nearly getting the both of you hurt. She was fighting on her own, not bothering to have your back and going into it alone. Obviously, the two of you were overpowered quickly once they realized that you were pretty much behaving solo.

Luckily, the others pulled through and got you both out of there before anything horrible happened.

You sat in the ship, jaw clenched so tightly that they swore they could hear your teeth cracking, fists nearly white as you tried to control your anger and keep yourself from screaming at her while you were still in the air.

Once the ship landed in the docking bay and Zatanna was the first one to leave without saying another word, you snapped.

“What the hell did you think you were doing today!” You growled out, fisting her collar and stopping her in her tracks.

“What are you talking about?” She feigned innocence and you felt your skin burning. Everything around you faded out and all you could feel was fury. In hindsight, you would have liked to handle this issue in a more refined manner, but you honestly couldn’t care.

So, you didn’t notice the rest of the team, along with the a few members of the Justice League watching you chew Zatanna out.

Whatever would keep you from lighting her on fire was enough.

“I’m talking about putting the mission, not to mention ourselves in jeopardy, all because you can’t stop acting like a spoilt brat!” You hissed.

She rolled her eyes and you and the thought of strangling her briefly crossed your mind before she shoved your hands off her, dusting herself off like your fingerprints were dirt, “You need to stop blaming others for your inadequacy.”

She turned on her heel sharply and walked away. Blood pounded through your ears and your fingers twitched by their sides before you formed a whip of water from the bay and lashed it against her feet.

Zatanna, caught off guard, was thrown across the room before she caught herself with a muttered spell and turned around, glaring at you furiously.

“We’re going to settle things, right here, right now!”

“If you would stop being so insecure, then we could sort out our differences like mature adults!” She screamed back at you and before you could control it, flames erupted from beneath your feet and raced towards her, scorching the ground beneath it.

Each puff of breath you took released sparks. Zatanna immediately got into an offensive stance, levitating one of the weapons crates and chucking at you. You blocked it effortlessly using a wall of earth before throwing an inferno at her.

You kept fighting, flames and splashes of water going into the air every time you collided. The others watched in fear as you both raced towards each other, it looked like neither of you were holding back.

Before you could strike her again, you were being pulled away by Superman and as Zatanna was by Batman, they both pulled you yards apart. Even with his strong, authoritative grip on you, you couldn’t stop thrashing in his arms, throwing gusts of air at her.

“(Y/N). Enough.” Superman spoke in your ear and you calmed down, relaxing in his grip. He let you go after and you winced, feeling your skin bruise where he grabbed you. He gave you an apologetic glance at that.

“You both have to put your differences aside and work as a team or you won’t be allowed to go on any more missions.” Batman told you, voice firm but it didn’t shake you.

“No, Zatanna is going to have to put her issues with me aside and learn that when I have been elected as leader of the squad then you are supposed to put your petty jealousy aside and know your place.” You spat.

“You weren’t right for the position!”

“I did everything right! And if it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t have been under open fire tonight!”

“You’re not the boss of me!”

“When I am the leader of the squadron then I am! And you’re meant to listen and not question my judgement because you’re being blinded by your pathetic jealously!”

“I’m not jealous of you!”

“Oh, please! That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve heard from you and it was all proved today! Admit it! You were immature and fucking stupid because you can’t get over that fact that you dated Dick for what? 3 months?”

“That’s because he’s supposed to be with me!” 

“LIKE HELL HE IS!” You roared.

Batman felt a little helpless watching the two of you scream at each other. All this fighting? Over a boy? His son, no less? He had other sons and you were free to have your pick. But at this point, he wasn’t even sure what to say.

“You just can’t seem to accept the fact that he doesn’t love you anymore! Get over it! Because he certainly has!” You shouted, spinning on your heel and stomping away from her, determined to have the last word. Superman sighed in relief. He thought another fight would break out.

“You’re just insecure because you know that if he had the chance, he would come crawling back to me!”

A chill went done your spine and you felt cold fury run through your veins, turning around to glare at her murderously and clenching your hands tightly. You were so angry your feet were rooted to the floor, body seizing up slightly.

The others looked anxiously between the two of you as you glared at each other for a minute before you spoke with the calmest, yet most terrifying voice they’ve ever heard from you.

“Zatanna, you can try your damn hardest to win him back. But I promise you, you’re never going to get what you want.” You told her darkly, before walking away.

As Zatanna glared at your receding figure she decided she was going to prove you wrong.

***

To keep you from fighting with Zatanna again, when Batman came to you with a solo mission you couldn’t agree fast enough. Even though you knew you’d miss Dick’s homecoming, you still wanted to get the hell away from here. Not like you’d be missing anything important, other than Zatanna fawning over him.

You’d get to tell him how much you missed him in private anyway.

As soon as you were out of the cave, you couldn’t help the relief that filled your bones. You had been so on edge the past few days, still furious with her so the distance between the two of you was appreciated.

When Dick got home, he was ecstatic to see you again. It had been nearly 3 weeks since he had last held you and his skin was practically buzzing with excitement when he reached a cave, desperate to hug you, kiss you, touch you.

He got to the mess hall quickly, running all the way there and when he opened the door, he was instantly disappointed. You weren’t there.

“Where’s (Y/N)?” He asked Beast Boy, hoping he would tell him that you were just back at your apartment or that you had gone out for a while and would be back soon but he felt his heart sink when Gar gave him a sympathetic smile.

“She’s on a mission for a week.”

“A mission? Who’s with her?”

“No one. It’s a solo mission.”

Now he was worried. You usually didn’t take solo missions, liking to work in a team, knowing that there would be people who would be watching your back was reassuring. He knew you were more than skilled to handle a solo mission but not being by your side made him nervous and slightly antsy.

He was also upset that you weren’t here. So, he decided to do the most adult thing. Go home and sulk in bed while holding your sweatshirt that smelt like you.

But apparently the world had something against him because when he was about to go through the Zeta tube he was intercepted. By non other than Zatanna.

Now, poor clueless Dick had no idea that you had thrown hands with Zatanna just a day ago and was the reason why you weren’t there to welcome him when he got back. If he had he would’ve sulked at her and whined loudly for her to hear while he dragged his feet.

But, poor clueless Dick had absolutely no idea Zatanna was the reason he was being deprived of your kisses. So, he just smiled brightly at her and asked her if she needed anything.

“As a matter of fact, I found an old spell and I need someone to test it out on!”

“I don’t know how I feel about being your non-scientific experiment, Z.”

“Come on, it’s totally harmless, I promise.”

“I don’t know...”

“Don’t you trust me?”

He did. But there was just something about this situation that made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was because he missed you like crazy and just wanted to go home and sulk until you came back. Maybe it was because he felt uncomfortable to go somewhere private with his ex-girlfriend without telling you first. Or maybe it was because of the way Zatanna felt the need to guilt him into it.

Nevertheless, he agreed, albeit reluctantly and went to her room. Inside Zatanna had a bunch of ruins written on a paper and some weird poultices beside it.

“Now this isn’t going to work unless you give me your consent.” She informed, bustling about the room and Dick suddenly felt the air was a little stuffy.

“What do you mean by consent? Consent for what?”

“It’s a love spell.” She told him, smiling slyly but he couldn’t quite understand why. His hands got a little clammy at the announcement. What did she mean by love spell? Was she trying to get him to fall in love with her? Why would she be so open about it then? Especially when she knew he was in love with someone else?

“What do you mean?”

“Oh relax, stop being so tense. It’s just a love spell that proves who you truly love.” She said, immediately noticing how stiff his body was. Though she chalked it up to confusion. Dick was simply confused about who he loved, he was clouded by his attraction to you and he felt guilty about being unfaithful. But deep down, he really loved her. And this spell would prove it.

“In the olden ages, people would use it on their wedding to prove that their significant other truly loved them.”

He nodded, mouth falling open with realization. He already knew what the answer would be so why even bother? He assumed it was because Zatanna was curious to whether it actually worked.

“Too bad (Y/N) isn’t here, I mean I know who I love but I’d like to try it out on her. I mean, who takes a mission the day before their boyfriend comes back to town.” He complained, more to himself but Zatanna still heard it.

“Anyway, can I cast it on you?”

“Sure, couldn’t hurt.”

Oh, how he’d come to know just how wrong he was.

***

You raced through the halls, panicked, hearing your heart beat out of your chest as you sprinted to the Med Bay. Even though you were running as quick as possible you still pumped your legs to run faster, needing to get there quickly.

As soon as you saw Zatanna outside the Med Bay, you skidded to a stop in front of her and grabbing her collar, pinning her against the wall. She hit it with a thud and she saw white for a second when her head collided with the hard surface.

It was then you got a good look at her face. Her eyes were red and face wet. Her lips were bitten until they bled. You gritted your teeth, grip tightening around the collar as tears pricked your eyes.

“What the hell did you do!”

She whimpered, eyes getting glossy again before she started crying, incomprehensible words leaving her lips and you snarled before shaking her again, “You don’t get to cry! What the hell did you do to him!”

“It was a love spell!” She cried out, “It was supposed to reveal who he truly loves.”

“AND?!”

“It’s activated by a kiss.” She sniffled, “And I did.”

“Is it done?” Dick asked just as she finished casting the spell. His body was enveloped by a slight glow that was only visible to her and Zatanna’s lips curled when she realized it had worked. Now there was only one thing left to do.

“Yep.” She said, slinking over to his side and he pouted curiously.

“Are you sure? I don’t feel any different. You said it was supposed to reveal who I love. What happened?”

“We’re gonna find that out. Hold still.” She said, smiling and wrapping her arms around his neck to press a kiss to his lips. Dick froze, feeling her lips move against his and his mind went blank for a second before his chest contracted painfully.

He gasped against her mouth, before his legs buckled and he tumbled to the ground. Zatanna’s eyes widened when she saw the way his body twitched, pained gasps leaving his mouth and tears began falling from his eyes.

“Are you okay?!” She panicked, wrapping her arms around his thrashing figure but he couldn’t choke out an answer.

“Someone help! Anyone! Please!”

“A kiss doesn’t put people through cardiac arrest!” You screamed, feeling your chest tighten as you heard it out loud for the first time. Your eyes began burning and your throat contracted, feeling tears build. It was the first time you had admitted it to yourself.

You were scared. Emotions that you could barely process or understand swirled around you in a dark cloud and you were scared that Dick wouldn’t make it out of his critical state. If he was taken away from you because you hadn’t been there to stop it, you would never forgive yourself.

“I’m sorry.” She whimpered, sobbing and her body went limp in your fists. The urge to rip her head off her shoulders resurfaced. She didn’t get to be upset, not when this was all her fault.

“I don’t give a shit.” You hissed, “How do we save him?”

“A true love’s kiss should stop all the side effects.” She whispered, looking up at you with wide eyes, “If Dick truly loves you, then when you kiss him, it’ll reverse the spell.”

You needed to get in there.

You released your hold and Zatanna and she slid to the floor pathetically, holding her body as she cried. But even with her heartbroken sobs, you couldn’t feel any sort of remorse to her, glaring at her instead, “You better hope this works. Or I’ll kill you myself.”

And then you rushed in.

When you got to Dick’s side your breath stuttered when you noticed just how many things he was connected to and you felt your body shake. Batman was carefully watching him from his bedside.

You carefully walked to his side, gently brushing your fingers against his cheekbone. He looked like he was in so much pain. He looked so weak. You wanted to help him but a part of you was scared. For the first time in your life, you doubted Dick’s feelings for you.

The time you needed his love and devotion to be true the most, you were doubtful. A million thoughts rushed through your head and for a second you were tempted to just avoid doing this at all. But you knew that you had to at least try.

So, with trembling hands, you held the ventilator fastened to his mouth, taking a deep breath before tugging it off. Batman, already knowing what you were about to do, let you pull it off him before pressing a fluttering kiss to his lips. Tears gathered underneath your lashes when you didn’t feel anything happen.

Just when you were about to pull away, Dick took a deep breath through his nose and panted against your mouth, kissing you more firmly. You couldn’t help the sob that bubbled out of your throat and he swallowed it without any qualms.

Even through bleary vision, you were able to make out his blue eyes and the small smile on his face. 

His hands came up to weakly cup for cheeks, gently wiping away the tears with his thumbs, “I missed you.”

You sniffled, letting more tears fall because you knew he’d be here to wipe them away, “I missed you too.”

***

Bonus:

You walked into the mess hall quietly. Dick had just fallen asleep in the Med Bay where he would be kept for a couple days under observation. It was past 1 in the night and you wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed but you had some unfinished business left to handle.

It was dark and it was hard to make out your surroundings until your eyes adjusted to the darkness. As you walked to the kitchen island, your eyes landed on the sorceress that had her head in her arms and wondered if she was asleep. Batman had said you were free to deal with her anyway you liked and that had been exactly your plan.

“He’s okay now, if you’re curious.” You told her. Her head shot up and she looked at you out of the corner of her eye before bowing it away shamefully. But you caught a glance at her face. She looked like she had been crying for hours, eyes bloodshot and face red and blotchy.

“Thank god.” She croaked out.

There was a beat of silence.

“I’m so so sorry, (Y/N).” Zatanna whimpered out before crying again, “You were right. I was jealous. And I did a crazy, wrong thing. And I’m so sorry.”

You sighed, nodding at her apology even though you knew she couldn’t see you. You weren’t sure if you accepted it, and you didn’t have to. For now, it could remain in the air.

“He really doesn’t love me....” She whispered out and you sighed once again, stepping up beside her and setting something on the table.

Zatanna glanced at the bottle of tequila and the two shot glasses you left. You didn’t look at her, instead choosing to stare straight ahead. You opened the bottle, pouring yourself a shot before tilting your head back and downing it, hissing at the burn.

“Obligatory break-up drink.” You mumbled, pouring her a shot and passing the glass to her.

She sniffled, looking at the glass in her hands before gulping it down. You took a deep breath, refilling the glasses. You still didn’t look at her, didn’t speak to her, just poured a refill when either of you finished and downed it in one gulp. The excitement from today and the tense feeling from sitting beside Zatanna kept you from getting drunk too early.

You two ended up finishing half the bottle, drinking in the dark until she passed out first and you followed soon after.

The others found you the next morning, passed out at the kitchen island, clutching empty shot glasses.

***

Bonus bonus:

Batman sighed, smelling the overwhelming scent of tequila as he came closer. None of them were able to wake either of you up. You were out cold, face scrunched up and head against the table in a position that would no doubt have your neck in a crick.

Zatanna was no better. Her hair was a mess, tequila spilt on her clothes and she was drooling all over the table, snoring unattractively.

“All this over a boy?”

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[fudokaze]

saw someone say dick grayson is not a good character or adult because he “keeps getting back with his exes” and… huh? (btw the post was strictly about titans!dick grayson so that is what i will talk about here).

first of all, he never got back with dawn to my knowledge and him & kory never specifically dated so even if they end up getting together it is not going back to your ex. so where exactly is the “keep”? unless you will count the trigon world thing as a real thing, which to me just means you didn’t get what the episode was even supposed to represent in the first place, like at all.

secondly & most importantly, how does that make you any of those things? it is not shown why dick and barbara broke up just yet, or at least i didn’t catch it, but we do know they dated a long while back. he is not consistently going back to her, it’s called trying again. whether you like them together or not, which i don’t anyway, it’s just a weird phrase. they have clearly grown since then, and they are way different now, so it is a fair enough thing to try again if you two clearly have some sort of feelings towards one-another. so no, i don’t agree with the bad adult thing, at least not because of that, but most of all… how is it a bad character thing at all?

“bad character” implies not well-written. dick is clearly supposed to be shown to be a troubled person with a bad past he is still working to get over. and it’s good he is not shown to get over everything, over all his trauma, as easily and as fast as some of you want him to. trauma does not work that way, whether you like it or not. going back to one’s ex can be a big showcase of a person struggling to let go of one’s past, which does not make them a bad person and much less a bad character. he is supposed to be complicated and not perfect – much just like everybody else on the show. having flaws and being traumatized does not make him a bad character, and neither does getting with one’s ex.

the person was clearly not a fan of the show and that’s fine, but god did that make them sound stupid.